Thiruvananthapuram: In order to avoid any obstacle in the distribution of 'aravana prasadam' and 'appam' during the next Sabarimala pilgrimage season, the auction of jaggery and other raw materials has been completed by the Travancore Devaswom Board. 

The auction was completed ahead of the season to avoid the jaggery shortage that hindered the sale of aravana last season. Procedures for inviting tenders for 19 raw materials needed to prepare the ‘prasadam’ began in April, and the auction of 16 of these materials has now been completed, stated Devaswom president P. S. Prasanth.

Cardamom will be stocked from the Forest Development Corporation. Last season, the High Court had restricted the Devaswom Board from selling the 'aravana' after it had been found that the cardamoms used to make the same contained pesticide residues exceeding the maximum residue level (MRL). The Board had suffered a loss of Rs 6.5 crore as a result. It is to avoid such financial loss and controversies that the board decided to use organic cardamoms from the Forest Development Corporation. The Board has invited Expressions of Interest (EoI) from companies in order to dispose of the 6.5 lakhs tins of the stale 'aravana' from the ‘Sannidhanam’.

A total of 40 lakh kilo of jaggery is required for the pilgrimage season alone. A Maharashtra-based agency has taken up the contract to provide jaggery at a lower rate than that of the previous year. Last season, the jaggery shortage arose as the agencies sought more money against the agreed amount for the supply citing a shortage of the same in North India.